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Berkman Center's Digital Media Project has conducted
an exploratory case study on Apple's iTunes Online Music Store from a
legal and business perspective. The objective of this analysis is
twofold: First, it seeks to gain advanced knowledge of the
relationships among copyright law, contract law, digital rights
management schemes and business modeling processes in the Post-Napster
world. Understanding such interactions is crucial when attempting to
balance the divergent interests of consumers, artists, the
entertainment industry, and technology manufacturers through regulatory
mechanisms such as law, code market mechanisms, and adjustment of
social norms. Second, the paper is intended as a further step toward
expanding the knowledge base of the Digital Media Project beyond U.S.
law to include a more detailed coverage of the legal and regulatory
frameworks of other countries. The focus of the comparative law
analysis conducted in this initial study is on European jurisdictions
and selected nations in the Asia-Pacific.